The Basics
Games #16-18
Oral Roberts (11-4, 0-0) vs. North Dakota State (2-13, 0-0)
Dates: Mar. 14th | Mar. 15^th | Mar. 16^th | 6:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m.
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Chapman Park)
Watch: Summit League Network | Live Stats: Sidearm Live Stats
 
Tulsa, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team opens Summit League play as they welcome North Dakota State to Chapman Park for a weekend series.
 
Since 2022, the Golden Eagles have been 53-23-1 in regular-season conference games and have won the last three Summit League Conference Tournament titles.
 
ORU comes into the weekend on their longest winning streak of the going season at five straight with wins over Illinois State, a sweep over Southern Indiana, and a comeback win at Missouri State last Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Golden Eagles have been great at home to start the season with a record of 9-2 featuring two series sweeps against Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Southern Indiana.  They also picked up a ranked win over then No. 19 Dallas Baptist on February 28^th.
 
The Bison have struggled to start 2025 losing seven of their last eight games.  However, NDSU's non-conference opponents have featured then No. 21 Dallas Baptist, No. 20 Alabama, No. 2 Alabama, and Tulane which results in the second toughest schedule in the country.  They were able to snap that seven-game losing streak and take the series finale over the Green Wave last Sunday 12-3.    
 
 
Pitching Matchup: 
LHP Weston Rouse (1-0, 9.82) vs. LHP Nolan Johnson (0-3, 9.60)
RHP Nathan Love (2-2, 2.95) vs. RHP Logan Knight (0-3, 9.35)
RHP Jack Hill (2-0, 2.92) vs. TBD
 
Inside the Series:
Oral Roberts leads the all-time series 51-26, but they have only beaten the Bison twice out of the last six meetings.  The Golden Eagles boast a 31-11 record against NDSU in Tulsa and won their last meeting 11-3 on May 22^nd, 2024. 
 
Quick Hits: 

• Oral Roberts has four multi-run comeback wins this season vs. Arizona State (two runs), Missouri State (five runs twice), and Southern Indiana (seven runs)
•  ORU is 8-3 when scoring 5 or more runs this season
• Martell Davis now holds the team lead in homers with four, hitting a two-run home run against Missouri State on Tuesday

 
Scouting the Opponent: North Dakota State comes in with a record of 2-13, however, that is a product of the country's second-hardest schedule to start the 2025 season.  The Bison have played three ranked teams already and are coming off a win over Tulane.
 
NDSU is led in average by Jake Schaffner hitting .377 with one homer and five RBIs.  He has played and started in all 15 games and leads the team in runs scored with 14.  Colten Becker leads all Bison with two home runs to go along with 10 RBIs which is tied for the team lead.  Becker heads into the weekend on an eight-game hit streak driving in eight runs during that span.
 
Two Bison have four starts on the pitching staff in RHP Logan Knight and LHP Nolan Johnson.  Knight has posted an 0-3 record with a 9.35 ERA in 17.1 innings surrendering 25 hits, 19 runs, 18 earned, nine walks, and has struck out 15.  Johnson has the same record and a 9.60 ERA in 15.0 innings of work giving up 17 hits, 16 runs which are all earned, six walks, and has struck out 14.   RHP Matt Sergeant is right behind them with three starts in a smaller sample size with 8.1 innings of work and an ERA of 9.72.  He has given up 13 runs but only nine have been earned to go along with eight walks and three punch outs.
 
The Bison have been outscored 140 to 71 through 15 games, averaging out to 4.7 runs per contest.  NDSU's team batting average sits at .215 heading into the weekend and the ERA at 10.11.  Defensively they've been good committing less than an error per game at 13 on the year to go along with a .973 fielding percentage.

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